Schmit Makes Pitch To Remain Unbeaten

Schmit, it seems, has been playing -- and pitching -- big games his entire baseball life.

Tonight at 7 o'clock, Schmit, a senior at Lake Mary High School, plays -- and pitches -- in another big game.

He will get the starting pitching assignment against Sarasota Riverview in the Florida Class AAAA High School Baseball Tournament at Rollins College's Alfond Stadium in Winter Park.

Miami Christopher Columbus and Gonzales Tate play in the tournament opener at 4 p.m. The championship game will be played Friday at 7 p.m.

Schmit, 17, brings a 14-0 record into the state tournament. His arm and his bat (.373 average, 6 home runs, 47 RBIs) have been instrumental in guiding Lake Mary to a 31-2 record and the No. 1 ranking in the Florida Sports Writers Association's Class AAAA poll.

But Schmit has been letting his arm and bat talk for him the past five years. Even as a Little League player, it was a bigger, stronger Schmit, then 12, who commanded the attention and attracted the pressure.

In Florida, the name Belmont Heights is synonymous with Little League success. This Tampa program has produced Dwight Gooden and Floyd Youmans, among others, while building a national reputation.

Schmit had built his own reputation at Altamonte Springs Little League and has had several opportunities to face the best of Belmont Heights during the past decade. The Tampans became a major source of frustration for Schmit and a motivation for self improvement.

As a 12-year-old, Schmit locked up in a pitching duel with Belmont's Derek Bell -- this year an all-Hillsborough County selection at Tampa Hillsborough High -- and lost, 2-1. Heights also won the next night, 10-9, and used that series as a springboard to the Little League World Series, going all the way to the championship game before losing to Taiwan.

Belmont Heights frustrated Altamonte Springs again when Schmit was 13. But two years later, in 1984, Schmit got his revenge.

Schmit and his Altamonte buddies turned away Belmont Heights en route to winning the Senior Little League World Series in Gary, Ind.

Schmit built his Little League reputation as a power pitcher and power hitter. Now, as a high school senior with a grant-in-aid to Florida State University already signed, he depends primarily on a slider and curveball.

''I need my fastball to set up the breaking pitches,'' Schmit said. ''When it is not there, things get a little tougher.''

Ryan Lisle has been catching Schmit since those Little League all-star days. He never is surprised by what Schmit accomplishes.

''I've never seen anyone who can get stronger as a game wears on like Mike can,'' Lisle said.